Configurable state model for supply chain management

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for supply chain management in accordance with a state model. A supply chain management system includes a transaction state module within an inter-enterprise server assessable by trading partners. The transaction state module can define a state model which allows a trading partner to view a transaction and perform an action in accordance with a state of the transaction. The state model describes, in association with each state, which of the trading partners have visibility to the transaction and ability to perform an action. The trading partners can include consumers, retailers, distributors, etc. The transactions can include a forecast order, a purchase order, a billing, a product shipment, a payment, an invoice, a credit memo, a request for quote (RFQ), and a return material authorization (RMA). States of the transaction can include, for example, create, open, public view, private view, publish, commit, cancel, supersede, and the like.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to co-pendingU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/660,747, entitled“Configurable State Model For Supply Chain Management,” filed on Mar.10, 2005, the subject matter of which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety; and this application is related to the followingcommonly owned applications: U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/158,371, filed on Jun. 22, 2005 and entitled “Program-Based SupplyChain Management”, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/659,829, filed on Mar. 8, 2005 and entitled“Program-Based Supply Chain Management” and U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/371,985, filed on Mar. 8, 2006 and entitled “Custom ApplicationBuilder for Supply Chain Management”, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/660,543, filed on Mar. 9, 2005 andentitled “Custom Application Builder for Supply Chain Management”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to supply chain management, and morespecifically, to inter-enterprise supply chain management software thatmanages supply chain transaction data using programs.

2. Description of the Related Art

Outsourcing has become very popular in all sectors of the industry andespecially in product manufacturing. Companies no longer manufacture andassemble all components of a product themselves, but outsource most orall parts of the development, manufacturing, distribution, and marketingof the product. For example, companies A and B may manufacture and sellparts to company C. Company C may assemble those parts and sellassembled modules of a product to company D. Company D may assemble suchmodules together with other components and modules obtained from othercompanies, and sell the final product to Company E. Company E may sellthe product under its brand to a distributor Company F which sells thefinal product to a retailer company G, which eventually sells the finalproduct to the end consumer.

Since most or all parts of the development, manufacturing, distribution,and marketing of the product are outsourced, no single company hascontrol of all the supply chain transaction data and informationrelating to the overall development, manufacturing, distribution, andmarketing of the product. Therefore, enterprise supply chain managementsoftware that manages the data relating to the role played by only onecompany in the process of development, manufacturing, distribution, andmarketing of the product cannot effectively manage the entireoutsourcing process.

Conventional inter-enterprise supply chain management software residesin a separate location apart from and between the various companies. Thevarious companies involved in such process exchange data with theconventional inter-enterprise supply chain management software accordingto the format of their own enterprise supply chain management software,and are able to view or perform actions on certain supply chainmanagement transaction data (e.g., placing an order, paying an invoice)using the conventional inter-enterprise supply chain managementsoftware. At the same time, such companies are able to obtain andmonitor information on the entire process of development, manufacturing,distribution, and marketing of the product through the conventionalinter-enterprise supply chain management software.

One shortcoming of the conventional inter-enterprise supply chainmanagement software is that transactions are typically presented fromone point of view. In other words, similar options for viewing andperforming actions against a transaction can be presented to each userregardless of their role in the transaction or a current state of thetransaction.

Therefore, what is needed is a method of system for allowingaccessibility to transactions in a supply chain management system inaccordance with a configurable state model.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides methods and systems for supply chainmanagement in accordance with a state model. In one embodiment, a supplychain management system includes a transaction state module within aninter-enterprise server assessable by trading partners. The transactionstate module can define a state model which allows a trading partner toview a transaction and perform an action in accordance with a state ofthe transaction. The state model describes, in association with eachstate, which of the trading partners have visibility to the transactionand ability to perform an action. The trading partners can includeconsumers, retailers, distributors, etc. The transactions can include aforecast of an order or an actual order. States of the transaction caninclude, for example, create, open, public view, private view, publish,commit, cancel, supersede, and the like.

In one embodiment, a default state model establishes parameters based ona role of the trading partner in the supply chain. For example, aretailer that originally places a transaction can have full visibilityand action privileges throughout the lifecycle of the transaction. Onthe other hand, a supplier may only be able to view a transaction onceit has been committed to by the retailer. In addition, the supplier maybe able to close the transaction, while the retailer is not able to doso. The privileges can be set according to factors such as businessprocesses, company policy, or industry norms.

Advantageously, the supply chain management system can automaticallycontrol access on a per-trading partner basis using the configurablestate model.

The features and advantages described herein are not all inclusive, and,in particular, many additional features and advantages will be apparentto one skilled in the art in view of the drawings, specifications, andclaims. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in thespecification has been principally selected for readability andinstructional purposes and may not have been selected to circumscribethe claimed invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings of the present invention can be readily understood byconsidering the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings. Like reference numerals are used for likeelements in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a supply chain management system using astate model according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an inter-enterprise server of the supplychain management system according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for managing a supply chainwith the state model according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 4A-E are user interfaces for configuration the state modelaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for managing thetransaction by allowing access to trading partners based on the statemodel according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a state diagram illustrating an example of state transitionsaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

The figures depict embodiments of the present invention for purposes ofillustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize fromthe following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structuresand methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing fromthe principles of the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Methods and systems for supply chain management with a state model aredescribed. Generally, the state model refers to a status of atransaction that is within a supply chain. The status can be affected byvarious trading partners that perform actions with respect to thetransaction. For example, a supplier can check the availability of goodsat a central warehouse responsive to a purchase order received from aretailer. In the meantime, the supplier can change the state of thepurchase order from open to pending commit. Satisfied that the order canbe fulfilled, the supplier can change the state from pending commit tocommit. The goods can be shipped from a central warehouse to a regionalwarehouse and updated within the supplier's proprietary supply chainmanagement system without affecting the information available to theretailer (i.e., no change in state). Once the shipping has occurred, theretailer can change the state from pending or commit to close. One ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that the embodiment describedherein with respect to a supply chain is only exemplary and can bemodified for different applications such as a package delivery system orthe like.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system 100 for supply chainmanagement according to one embodiment of the present invention. System100 comprises an inter-enterprise server 101 in communication withvarious trading partners 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116 through,for example, a data network (e.g., the Internet). Trading partners102-116 in the supply chain interact with one another in the process ofdeveloping, manufacturing, marketing and selling one or more products. Anumber of trading relations 120, 122, 124, 126, 128, and 130 exist,where each trading relation involves two trading partners. For example,the trading relation 122 involves two trading partners 104, 106. In oneembodiment, trading relations 120-130 affect how the state model isconfigured.

Trading partners 102-116 can exchange supply chain data withinter-enterprise server 101 and other trading partners 102-116. Tradingpartners 102-116 can comprise a computing device (e.g., a personalcomputer or server device) operated by a company or other type of entityinvolved in the supply chain. Trading partners 102-116 can havedifferent roles relative to other trading partners 102-116 astransactions progress through the supply chain. The roles within system101 can include buyers, manufacturers, suppliers, and vendors. Tradingpartners 102-116 typically maintain their own enterprise supply chainmanagement software for managing its own supply chain transaction data.However, some of the supply chain transaction data is shared with othertrading partners 102-116 for the purpose of tracking. More specifically,trading partners 102-116 can change a state associated with thetransaction. Changes in state can result from various actions such asplacing a purchase order (PO), billing, shipping a product, remitting apayment, etc. For example, one trading partner 108 may be waiting forparts to arrive from another trading partner 110, but would not knowwhether such parts were shipped from the trading partner 110 unlesstrading partner 110 makes such information available to trading partner108. In one embodiment, trading partners 102-116 are only able to viewtransactions in accordance with a state model. In another embodiment,trading partners 102-116 are only able to make changes to the state inaccordance with the state model.

Inter-enterprise server 101 exchanges the supply chain data with tradingpartners 102-116 as described. Inter-enterprise server 101 can be acomputing device (e.g., a personal computer or a server device) operatedby a service provider for supply chain management. In one embodiment,inter-enterprise server 101 manages a state model associated with eachtransaction. When trading partners 102-116 access inter-enterpriseserver 101 to view the supply chain data and to potentially performactions on the transactions, inter-enterprise server 101 allows viewingor changes in accordance with the state model. Inter-enterprise server101 and the state models are described in further detail below.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of inter-enterprise server 101 according toone embodiment of the present invention. Inter-enterprise server 101comprises a web interface 201, a transaction state module 202, supplychain database 203, and business logic module 204. Inter-enterpriseserver 101 can include additional components (not shown) such as aprocessor, a hard driver, etc.

In one embodiment, web interface 201 interfaces with the tradingpartners by packing and unpacking the supply chain data in data packetssuitable for transport across the network (e.g., TCP/IP packets). Webinterface 201 can also provide a set of application programminginterfaces, or APIs, for issuing commands to transaction state module202.

Transaction state module 202 allows configuration of state models fortransactions. For example, a wizard displays a set of user interfacessuch as those illustrated below. Transaction state module 202 stores theconfigurations in a memory device (not shown) such as hard drive or aRAM device. In response to access by a trading partner 102-116,transactions state module 202 refers to the state model to determinevisibility configurations and outputs supply chain data from supplychain database 203. When actions are requested against the transaction,transaction state module 202 refers to the state model to determineaction configurations and can implement business logic rules frombusiness logic module 204. For example, business logic module can sendout an e-mail to a purchasing department of an initiating tradingpartner once an order has been closed. Methods implemented withintransaction state module 202 are discussed further below.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method 300 for managingtransaction states in during supply chain management according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The method 300 can be implemented asystem for supply chain management (e.g., system 100).

A state model is defined 310 by, for example, an administrator of supplychain management system, a trading partner (e.g., one of tradingpartners 106-112), or a vendor (e.g., default state models) using, forexample, user interfaces shown in FIGS. 4A-E. More specifically, FIG. 4Ashows a user interface 410 for entering general information 412 aboutthe state model such as name 414 and transaction type 416. FIG. 4B showsa user interface 420 for viewing transaction visibility for each of thetrading partners, and FIG. 4C shows a user interface 430 for selectingtransaction visibility 432. FIG. 4D shows a user interface 440 forselecting actions for state transitions. FIG. 4E shows a user interface450 for selecting how a role of the trading partner that performs anaction will affect the state. In one embodiment, the state model ispre-defined, and thus only needs to be associated with a particulartransaction. Additionally, default state models that are configuredaccording to industry norms can be supplied by a vendor. The tradingpartner can either modify an existing state model or fully customize thestate model to suit their business process.

The availability of a transaction refers to which of the tradingpartners will be able to view, or have visibility to, the transaction.For example, a supplier may be unable to view a transaction as a publicdraft of a buyer until it is committed. Table 1 is an example oftransaction availability for a forecast transaction; table 2 is anexample of transaction availability for a create order action; and table3 is an example of transaction availability for an order transaction.

TABLE 1 Transaction visibility for a forecast transaction BuyerManufacturer Supplier Public Draft ✓ ✓ Private Draft ✓ Committed ✓ ✓ ✓Closed ✓ ✓ ✓ Pending Commit ✓ ✓ ✓

TABLE 2 Transaction visibility for a create order action. Order TypeCustomer Supplier Standard ✓ Blanket ✓ Transfer ✓ ✓ Consignment ✓ Proxy✓ Blanket Proxy ✓ RMA ✓

TABLE 3 Transaction visibility for an order transaction BuyerManufacturer Supplier Third Party Cancelled Closed Deferred Draft Open ✓✓ ✓ Pending ✓ ✓ Pending(B) ✓ ✓ Pending(S) ✓ ✓ Pending(Third Party)Pending Cancel Pending Cancel(B) Pending Cancel(S)

The trading partner can initiate 320 a transaction. The transaction canbe, for example, a forecast order, a purchase order (PO), a billing, aproduct shipment, a payment, an invoice, a credit memo, a request forquote (RFQ), and a return material authorization (RMA). For example, abuyer can place an order for televisions with a manufacturer. In turn,the manufacturer can place several orders for components from itssuppliers.

The trading partner associates 330 the state model with the transaction.An inter-enterprise server (e.g., inter-enterprise server 101) canmanage 340 the transaction by allowing access to the trading partnersbased on the state model, as described further in FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method 340 for managing thetransaction by allowing access to the trading partners based on thestate model according to one embodiment of the present invention. Atransaction state module (e.g., transaction state module 202) receives510 an access request from the trading partner. The access request caninclude a request to view a transaction, and/or a request to perform anaction on the transaction.

The transaction state module retrieves 520 the state model associatedwith the request from, for example, a supply chain database (e.g.,supply chain database 203). If the trading partner has viewing access tothe transaction 530, the transaction state module allows 540 the tradingpartner to view. If the partner has action access to the transaction560, the transaction state module allows 570 the trading partner toperform an action on the transaction. Depending on the action and/or thetrading partner, and action can result in a new state for thetransaction.

Table 4 illustrates example actions available to a forecast transaction,and table 5 illustrates the change in state as a result of the action.The rows of table 5 represent source states, the cells represent actionsperformed against the transaction, and the columns represent thedestination states resulting from the action. For example, a transactionat the open state changes to the pending commit state responsive to asubmit action. In addition, FIG. 6 is a state diagram 600 thatillustrates states and actions associated with table 5. Table 6illustrates example actions available to an order transaction, and table7 illustrates the change in state as a result of the action. Table 8illustrates the change in state as a result of the action on an orderheader for a buyer. Table 9 illustrates the change in state as a resultof the action on an order line for a buyer. Table 10 illustrates thechange in state as a result of the action on an order line for asupplier.

TABLE 4 illustrates example actions available to a forecast transactionClose The Buyer or Supplier closes the Forecast Commit The Suppliercommits to the Forecast Create (START) The Buyer adds a new ForecastOpen The user opens the draft Forecast for editing Make Private TheBuyer makes the draft Forecast private Make Public The Buyer makes thedraft Forecast public Modify Modify the Forecast Publish The Buyersubmits the Forecast; no commit is required Re-Commit The Supplierre-commits to the Forecast Submit The Buyer submits the Forecast; acommit is required Supercede The Rules Engine automatically moves“duplicate” Forecasts to superceded UnClose The Buyer or Supplieruncloses a Closed Forecast; it reverts to its previous state

TABLE 5 illustrates the change in state as a result of the action.Private Public Pending Forecast Draft Draft Open Published CommitCommitted Closed Superceded (START) Create Private Make Open PublishSubmit Draft Public Public Make Open Publish Submit Draft Private OpenMake Make Publish Submit Private Public Published Close SupercedePending Commit Close Supercede Commit Committed Commit Close ClosedUn-close Un-close Un-close Superceded

TABLE 6 illustrates example actions available to an order transactionAccept Accept the proposed order changes; once accepted, there isconsidered to be agreement on all the terms of the order Cancel Allowsthe user to perform a unilateral cancellation of the order; once theaction is performed, the order is cancelled Close Close the Order CreateCreate and submit a new order Defer Defer action on the order DeleteDelete an existing order (“hard” delete), an administrative functionFinish Finish items on the order (supplier action only) Modify Allowsthe user to modify an order that is not pending Order action by themodifying party; the order header information can be edited and send tothe other party Receive Receive items on the order Reject Reject pendingorder changes (roll back or go to pending??) Reply with Proposemodifications to an order that is pending action Changes from the sidetaking the action Request Request cancellation of the order(collaborative to Cancel cancellation) Save Draft Saves the order inDraft state; applies only to orders that have not been submitted totrading partners Ship Ship items on an order Split Line Split anexisting line into multiple lines Submit Publishes a draft order UndoCancel Makes a cancelled order active Undo Close Makes a closed orderactive

TABLE 7 illustrates example actions available to an order line AcceptAccept the proposed line changes; once accepted, there is considered tobe agreement on all the terms of the line Cancel Allows the user toperform a unilateral cancellation of the line; once the action isperformed, the line is cancelled Close Close an Order Line Defer Deferaction on the line Delete Delete an existing line (“hard” delete), anadministrative function Finish Finish items on the line (supplier actiononly) Modify Allows the user to modify a line that is not pending Lineaction by the modifying party: this action can also create an Order LineReceive Receive items on the line Reject Reject pending line changes(roll back or go pending??) Reply with Propose modifications to a linethat is pending action Changes from the side taking the action RequestRequest cancellation of the line (collaborative to Cancel cancellation)Ship Ship items on the line Split Line Split an existing line intomultiple lines Undo Cancel Makes a cancelled line active Undo CloseMakes a closed line active

TABLE 8 illustrates the change in state as a result of the action on anorder header for a Buyer. P P Pndg Pndg Cncl Cncl Order Draft (S) (B)Open (B) (S) Dfrd Clsd Cncld Pndg (START) SavD Crte (Mod) Draft SbmtSbmt Pending(S) RChg RChg Acpt ReqC ReqC Def Cls Can (Mod) Mod Mod RejRej Pending(B) RChg RChg Acpt ReqC ReqC Def Cls Can (Mod) Mod Mod RejRej Open Mod Mod ReqC ReqC Def Cls Can Pending RChg RChg Def Cls AcptCancel(B) Mod Mod Can Rej Rej Pending RChg RChg Def Cls Acpt Cancel(S)Mod Mod Can Rej Rej Deferred Mod Mod ReqC ReqC Cls Can Closed UnClCancelled UnCa Pending Mod Mod Acpt ReqC ReqC Def Cls Can Rej Rej

TABLE 9 illustrates the change in state as a result of the action on anorder line for a Buyer. P P Pndg Pndg Cncl Cncl Order Line Draft (S) (B)Open (B) (S) Dfrd Clsd Cncld (START) (Mod) Draft Mod SpLn Pending(S) ModReqC Def Cls Can SpLn Pending(B) RChg Acpt ReqC Def Cls Can Rej SpLnOpen Mod ReqC Def Cls Can SpLn Pending RChg Def Cls Acpt Cancel(B) RejCan SpLn Pending Mod Def Cls Can Cancel(S) SpLn Deferred Mod ReqC ClsCan Rej Closed UnCl Cancelled UnCa

TABLE 10 illustrates the change in state as a result of the action on anorder line for a Supplier. P P Pndg Pndg Cncl Cncl Order Line Draft (S)(B) Open (B) (S) Dfrd Clsd Cncld (START) AdLn Draft Mod SpLn Pending(S)RChg Acpt ReqC Def Cls Can SpLn Pending(B) Mod ReqC Def Cls Can Rej SpLnOpen Mod ReqC Def Cls Can SpLn Pending Mod Def Cls Can Cancel(B) SpLnPending RChg Def Cls Acpt Cancel(S) Mod Can Rej Deferred Mod ReqC ClsCan Rej Closed UnCl Cancelled UnCa

The order in which the steps of the methods of the present invention areperformed is purely illustrative in nature. The steps can be performedin any order or in parallel, unless otherwise indicated by the presentdisclosure. The methods of the present invention may be performed inhardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof operating on asingle computer or multiple computers of any type. Software embodyingthe present invention may comprise computer instructions in any form(e.g., source code, object code, interpreted code, etc.) stored in anycomputer-readable storage medium (e.g., a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic media,a compact disc, a DVD, etc.). Such software may also be in the form ofan electrical data signal embodied in a carrier wave propagating on aconductive medium or in the form of light pulses that propagate throughan optical fiber.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatchanges and modifications may be made without departing from thisinvention in its broader aspect and, therefore, the appended claims areto encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications, asfall within the true spirit of this invention.

In the above description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the artthat the invention can be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram formin order to avoid obscuring the invention.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment.

Some portions of the detailed description are presented in terms ofalgorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bitswithin a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the means used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desiredresult. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physicalquantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take theform of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the discussion, it isappreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing termssuch as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or “determining” or“displaying” or the like, refer to the action and processes of acomputer system, or similar electronic computing device, thatmanipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic)quantities within the computer system's registers and memories intoother data similarly represented as physical quantities within thecomputer system memories or registers or other such information storage,transmission or display devices.

The present invention also relates to an apparatus for performing theoperations herein. This apparatus can be specially constructed for therequired purposes, or it can comprise a general-purpose computerselectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored inthe computer. Such a computer program can be stored in a computerreadable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type ofdisk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, andmagnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random accessmemories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any typeof media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupledto a computer system bus.

The algorithms and modules presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purposesystems can be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatuses to perform the method steps. The required structure for avariety of these systems will appear from the description below. Inaddition, the present invention is not described with reference to anyparticular programming language. It will be appreciated that a varietyof programming languages can be used to implement the teachings of theinvention as described herein. Furthermore, as will be apparent to oneof ordinary skill in the relevant art, the modules, features,attributes, methodologies, and other aspects of the invention can beimplemented as software, hardware, firmware or any combination of thethree. Of course, wherever a component of the present invention isimplemented as software, the component can be implemented as astandalone program, as part of a larger program, as a plurality ofseparate programs, as a statically or dynamically linked library, as akernel loadable module, as a device driver, and/or in every and anyother way known now or in the future to those of skill in the art ofcomputer programming. Additionally, the present invention is in no waylimited to implementation in any specific operating system orenvironment.

It will be understood by those skilled in the relevant art that theabove-described implementations are merely exemplary, and many changescan be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of thepresent invention. Therefore, it is intended by the appended claims tocover all such changes and modifications that come within the truespirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:storing, by a programmed computer system, data representing a pluralityof states of transactions among a plurality of trading partners in asupply chain; determining, by a programmed computer system, a statemodel for a transaction that describes a plurality of states of thetransaction, the state model comprising accessibility parameters of atransaction based on a role of the trading partner in the supply chainand transition parameters for transition of the transaction amongst theplurality of states; and providing, by the programmed computer system,the trading partner access to the transaction in accordance with theaccessibility parameters of the state model.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining action privilege parameters of thetrading partner based on the role of the trading partner in the supplychain; and determining that the trading partner has access to perform anaction on the transaction in accordance with the action privilegeparameters.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving arequest from the trading partner to perform the action; determining fromthe state model how the action affects the state of the transaction; andchanging the state of the transaction.
 4. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: receiving a request from the trading partner to perform asecond action; determining from the state model that the trading partnerdoes not have action access to the second action of the transactionbased on the state of the transaction; and preventing the tradingpartner from having action access to the second action.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving a request from the tradingpartner to access a second transaction; determining from the state modelthat the trading partner does not have access to the second transactionbased on the state of the transaction; and preventing the tradingpartner from having viewing access to the second transaction.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: providing a default state modelfor use as the state model, the default state model having preconfigureddescriptions.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transactioncomprises one from the group comprising: a forecast order, a purchaseorder, a billing, a product shipment, a payment, an invoice, a creditmemo, a request for quote (RFQ), and a return material authorization(RMA).
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein an action comprises one fromthe group comprising: create, accept, cancel, close, defer, delete,finish, modify line, receive, reject, reply with changes, request tocancel, ship, split line, undo cancel, and undo close.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of states of the transaction compriseprivate draft, public draft, open, published, pending, commit, closed,and superseded.
 10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodiedwith software that when executed using one or more computer systems isconfigured to: store data representing a plurality of states oftransactions among a plurality of trading partners in a supply chain;determine a state model for a transaction that describes a plurality ofstates of the transaction, the state model further comprisingaccessibility parameters of a transaction based on a role of the tradingpartner in the supply chain and transition parameters for transition ofthe transaction amongst the plurality of states; and provide the tradingpartner access to the transaction in accordance with the accessibilityparameters of the state model.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 10, wherein the software is further configured to:determine action privilege parameters of the trading partner based onthe role of the trading partner in the supply chain; and determine thatthe trading partner has access to perform an action on the transactionin accordance with the action privilege parameters.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein thesoftware is further configured to: receive a request from the tradingpartner to perform the action; determine from the state model how theaction affects the state of the transaction; and change the state of thetransaction.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim11, wherein the software is further configured to: receive a requestfrom the trading partner to perform a second action; determine from thestate model that the trading partner does not have action access to thesecond action of the transaction based on the state of the transaction;and prevent the trading partner from having action access to the secondaction.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10,wherein the software is further configured to: receive a request fromthe trading partner for viewing a second transaction; determine from thestate model that the trading partner does not have viewing access to thesecond transaction based on the state of the transaction; and preventthe trading partner from having access to the second transaction. 15.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein thesoftware is further configured to: provide a default state model for useas the state model, the default state model having preconfigureddescriptions.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim10, wherein the transaction comprises one from the group comprising: aforecast order, a purchase order, a billing, a product shipment, apayment, an invoice, a credit memo, a request for quote (RFQ), and areturn material authorization (RMA).
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein an action comprises onefrom the group comprising: create, accept, cancel, close, defer, delete,finish, modify line, receive, reject, reply with changes, request tocancel, ship, split line, undo cancel, and undo close.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein theplurality of states of the transaction comprise private draft, publicdraft, open, published, pending, commit, closed, and superseded.
 19. Acomputer-implemented system, comprising: a transaction state moduletangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable mediumconfigured to: store data representing a plurality of states oftransactions among a plurality of trading partners in a supply chain;determine a state model for a transaction that describes a plurality ofstates of the transaction, the state model comprising accessibilityparameters of a transaction by a trading partner based on a role of thetrading partner in the supply chain and transition parameters fortransition of the transaction amongst the plurality of states; andprovide the trading partner access to the transaction in accordance withthe accessibility parameters of the state model.
 20. The system of claim19, wherein the transaction state module is further configured to:determine action privilege parameters of the trading partner based onthe role of the trading partner in the supply chain; and determine thatthe trading partner has access to perform an action on the transactionin accordance with the action privilege parameters.
 21. The system ofclaim 20, further comprising: a web interface, coupled in communicationwith the transaction state module, the web interface tangibly embodiedon a non-transitory computer-readable medium and configured to receive arequest from the trading partner to perform the action; and a supplychain database, coupled in communication with the transaction statemodule, that stores the state model, wherein the transaction statemodule is further configured to determine from the state model how theaction affects the state of the transaction, and to change the state ofthe transaction.
 22. The system of claim 20, further comprising: a webinterface, coupled in communication with the transaction state module,the web interface tangibly embodied on a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium and configured to receive a request from thetrading partner to perform a second action; and a supply chain database,coupled in communication with the transaction state module, that storesthe state model, wherein the transaction state module is furtherconfigured to determine from the state model that the trading partnerdoes not have action access to the second action of the transactionbased on the state of the transaction, and to prevent the tradingpartner from having action access to the second action.
 23. The systemof claim 19, further comprising: a web interface, coupled incommunication with the transaction state module, the web interfacetangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium andconfigured to receive a request from the trading partner to access asecond transaction; a supply chain database, coupled in communicationwith the transaction state module, that stores the state model, whereinthe transaction state module is further configured to determine from thestate model that the trading partner does not have access to the secondtransaction based on the state of the transaction, and to prevent thetrading partner from having access to the second transaction.